Are Diet Soft Drinks Really A Better Alternative?

When you decide it's time to make a change to your diet, one of the first things a lot of people do is switch out the regular soda for diet. It saves on calories and sugar, and can still give you the caffeine boost and beverage variety you're looking for. But some recent studies say that diet drinks might not be much better for your health.

A 2007 study from Boston University found that both sugar sodas and diet drinks boost the risk of metabolic syndrome- a collection of risk factors that increase your risk of health problems like heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Another study, published in the journal Circulation, found the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none. Keep in mind that these studies show an association between diet soda and metabolic syndrome. They don't necessarily say that drinking diet soda will lead you to develop the condition.

One theory suggests that artificial sweeteners may lead to increased food intake because they alter our sense of taste and interfere with the body's ability to properly assess how many calories are in foods. Therefore, you end up eating more- and we know that overweight and obesity are risk factors for developing metabolic syndrome.

I think switching from regular soda to diet is a good way to slowly wean yourself off of these kinds of drinks. But ideally, I think it's a good idea to ditch the soda completely. (Sorry, all of you Diet Coke lovers!) If the idea of drinking water bores you, try adding a slice of fruit or sample some of the sparkling, mineral or fruit-flavored varieties on the market today.

What do you think? Are you a diet soda drinker? Have you noticed whether or not it affects your hunger level and how much you're eating? Have you considered giving it up, or are you happy as you are?

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GOBLUE61403

389

I have been a Diet Coke drinker all my life. However, now that I am eating healthier, I am trying to drink more water. So...I let myself have as much DC as I want, but ONLY after drinking all my water for the day. That way, I really taste it and enjoy it as a treat. Besides, after 8 glasses of water, I usually don't want any coke!
- 1/24/2011 10:14:04 AM

I quit drinking soda (here in Minnesota we call it pop) over 6 years ago. I was having a lot of trouble with tooth sensitivity and that's when I learned how bad soda is for your teeth. Then I read something about how diet soda can change it's chemical composition when it gets too warm, such as leaving it in the trunk of your car when it's hot out. Some ingredient in the diet soda actually can cause poisoning when it gets over-heated. Quitting wasn't easy, the headaches and cravings, but I'm so glad I did it! I don't miss it at all.
- 1/22/2011 8:46:51 AM

I rarely drink soda. I don't feel that sugar subsitutes are healthy. I also feel that soda of any kind is hard on my teeth and bones. Water, herb tea are my standby. I will have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning.
- 1/22/2011 12:08:27 AM

I was addicted to diet coke and am now down to about one a week, and sometimes not that. An occassional glass of diet coke won't hurt much in my opinion, but I do believe that the artificial sweeteners in it will and so many other "diet" foods does. I try to keep it to stevia for my tea and coffee and that's about it.
- 1/21/2011 6:06:09 PM

I am working on drinking fewer Diet Cokes and more water. I just don't like the taste of plain water, and most of the flavored waters that I've found also have aspartame in them. I do make iced tea with a little bit of real sugar (about 3 tbsp in 3 quarts of water) and a healthy bit of Splenda (I'm from the south, we like our tea sweet!). On the days that I drink a lot of Diet Coke, the scale doesn't budge even if everything else is the same (calories, exercise, etc.). The days that I drink mostly water, I'll lose weight if everything else is the same. So I'm trying to limit myself to only one 12 oz can per day.

However, while I realize that aspartame is clearly affecting my body somehow, I think we need to be very careful to realize that correlation is not causation. There might be a link between Diet Coke and metabolic syndrome, but there is no solid evidence to date that drinking soda causes these problems. Anecdotes are fine but they do not constitute scientific evidence. For example, I always seem to get stuck at traffic lights when I'm running late. In reality, I'm probably not stopped at lights any more when I'm late than when I'm on time, but because I'm frantically watching the little clock in my car while stuck at the light, I notice it far more than when I'm just rocking out to 80's music at a light.

Everyone's body chemistry is different. Eating seafood is encouraged for most people since it's so healthy, but it makes me terribly ill since I'm allergic to it. That doesn't make seafood bad for everyone, just those with an allergy. I'm sure there are people with an allergy to aspartame who shouldn't drink it (and those with PKU should definitely not drink it!) but that's not to say that it can't be a part of a balanced diet for those whom is doesn't adversely affect.

Okay, I'll turn off the professor and research in me now. :-)
- 1/21/2011 4:26:47 PM

I thought I was addicted to caffeine because I was drinking a 24 pack of diet coke a day. I decided to switch to coffee and get off the diet coke. I noticed that I started buying sugar free popsicles and wasn't drinking the coffee. I was sucking on a box a day. What do sugar free popsicles and diet coke have in common? Aspertame. So I took Aspertame out of my diet completely. The first month was rough but once that cleared up, I did so much better. I didn't crave the diet coke or popsicles. When I do crave diet coke, I look at the products I ate that day. Aspertame hides in strange places and I sometimes find it in foods I wouldn't expect to find it. I think it is the Aspertame that is addictive.
- 1/19/2011 7:56:26 AM

THis is puzzling. I understand the difference between causality and correlation, and you agree with the person extracting the study here that this was correlation only. However, I'm not seeing any explanation for the correlation. Apparently, the relationship is not mediated by calories, etc. , but without the source (something which should be posted with this information, esp. since the writers here sometimes appear to misrepresent the study), we can't tell what the investigations suggest as a potential mechanism. Just because it's not calories doesn't mean it's not through something else. Once again, readers leave either without enough facts (as I was) or reach conclusions based on their experience.
- 10/31/2010 4:12:35 PM

I tried switching from regular to diet soda but I totally hate the taste, so it was really easy for me to give up. I drink at least my 64oz of water everyday and then sometimes I might have a tea w/ splenda.
- 8/24/2010 9:22:23 PM

There is no evidence that drinking diet soda increases the desire for sweets or the intake of calories. A recent study in Diabetes Care that linked diet soda to metabolic syndrome - linked, not caused - stated "participants randomly assigned to dietary regimens that include artificially sweetened foods and beverages do not gain more weight or consume more energy compared with those randomly assigned to sugar-sweetened food/beverage regimens . (Diabetes Care 32:688–694, 2009). Other studies show that diet soda drinkers overall have a better diet, buy better groceries. While water may be the ultimate neutral beverage, diet sodas are not evil. It may be easier to consume more of them because of the taste, but there is no harm related to the sweeteners or their use. Even the highest consumer is unlikely to reach the Acceptable Daily Intake which for most artificial sweeteners is roughly 20 12 oz cans or 97 packets. Even if you do, that figure has a 10x safety factor added in. The caffeine is another subject and in very large amounts can cause problems. But some caffeine consumption has been linked to reduced development of Type 2 diabetes. So even caffeine is not the always evil substance it was once thought to be. Moderation is good in all things - but for those of you who enjoy diet soda, I don't think you need to worry.
- 8/24/2010 11:07:57 AM

I used to drink a half gallon to gallon of Diet Pepsi a day! Sometimes a gallon and a half!!! I used to make the excuse "I work two jobs, I need the caffiene." I had a friend who was convinced that diet soda caused tumors in her breasts and she convinced me to give it up. I was on the water bandwagon for about 2 or 3 years. Then I let Diet Dr. Pepper slip back into my life, but recently have decided to break the habit again. Here's to drinking water!
- 8/19/2010 8:39:32 AM

I used to drink a half gallon to gallon of Diet Pepsi a day! Sometimes a gallon and a half!!! I used to make the excuse "I work two jobs, I need the caffiene." I had a friend who was convinced that diet soda caused tumors in her breasts and she convinced me to give it up. I was on the water bandwagon for about 2 or 3 years. Then I let Diet Dr. Pepper slip back into my life, but recently have decided to break the habit again. Here's to drinking water!
- 8/19/2010 8:39:25 AM

I have been drinking water now for almost a year, and the last time I had a diet Pepsi/Coke it did not taste right and ended up pouring it out. I will drink tea, but like it plain no sweet tea, and have become very aware of the dangers of artificial sweetener, which is another reason to not drink diet sodas or diet drinks of any kind.
- 8/17/2010 3:42:23 PM

One of the things that I did when I lost weight a few years ago was switched from regular soda to diet, and I strongly believe that was one of the biggest contributing factors to the weight coming off...I've never experienced the cravings for sweets that this article mentions, and never noticed any changes in my appetite. But, I also drink lots of water, and try to limit my diet coke to 2 or 3 a day.

Having said that, I have been reading a lot of things lately about aspartame that make me want to eliminate it from my diet. My grocery store brand diet cola has splenda instead of aspartame, so I've been drinking that instead!
- 8/17/2010 3:02:00 PM

My mom put Diet Coke in our sippy cups at McDonalds, lol! We never had the real stuff in our house. When I got to be a teenager, a whole new world of DP opened up. In college I went about 2 years without having any soda at all, but now I'm back to it. :( I won't have one everyday, but I'm a social drinker, for sure!
- 8/17/2010 1:51:08 PM

I love my diet coke. I looked at a lot of things (and have changed a lot of things) on my journey, but I don't plan on giving up my beloved diet coke. It has not affected my weight loss at all. I am at risk for metabolic syndrome due to my PCOS, but losing 81 lbs reduced my blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol to perfect levels and I need no medication at all. My fat, which has changed, is what caused those things to rise, not my diet coke consumption, which has not changed. I think many of these studies "suggest" things while not controlling for other variables. What type of person drinks diet soda - what is the average weight of drinkers/non-drinkers. There are so many variables. I am making my way to a healthy weight, I eat an extremely healthy diet, I exercise everyday and I will continue to enjoy my diet coke.
- 8/17/2010 12:20:42 PM

I love carbonation and yummy, sugary sodas. Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Red Bull, you name it. I can't help it. I switched to diet when I learned how many empty calories I was consuming from pop. I learned to really enjoy diet soda.

Then, I found that I was getting very ill every morning. I'd be late to class because I'd spend so much time in the bathroom. I couldn't figure out what it was. At first I thought it was caffeine, so I stopped drinking sugar free Red Bulls. I was still drinking a bottle or two of diet pop each day, and I didn't really see any difference.

Then I read that diet pop can cause irritable bowel syndrome and also cause your body to stop absorbing nutrients from food. This made complete sense, and I stopped drinking diet pop. The bowel movements I had every morning which made me painfully sick to my stomach stopped almost immediately.

It's hard for me to stop drinking diet soda alltogether, but I try to only have it once in a while. I allow a little extra room in my calorie intake to have one or two cans of pop a week just because I really do enjoy it. Also, I drink Canfield's sparkling Seltzer water on a regular basis to satisfy my carbonation addiction :P. I feel so much healthier and happier now.
- 7/16/2010 2:45:01 PM

I don't like drinking plain water...it's too boring. But, I do put a ton of ice in my diet cokes, and I have switched to Sobe lifewater after gym workouts with ice in it. I noticed that when I drink the lifewater, I tend to skip the diet coke. I don't think the soda has done anything to influence my weight, but I don't want to put myself at risk for other maladies. I'll have to make it a goal to only have an occasional diet coke.
- 6/30/2010 7:49:59 PM

Diet Pepsi is my drink of choice and all day. I make iced tea on occasion with an artificial sweetener. I keep water refrigerated but it makes it to the back of the fridge. Don't want to give up DP so quickly as my coffee in the morning. The caffeine gets me going somewhat at least. I have enough depression problems so I don't feel guilty over my soda. The chemicals in soda don't help with health conditions--like mine!! It will take some time to wean off I think but it will be ok. H2O with a twist sounds good. Crystal light is a bit strange these days, unlike what it was, since it don't mix as well. Probably doing it wrong. But I will save money by not buying the sleeves of DP anymore. Hmmmm I used to say that about smoking--and I was right!! A pack is over $7 now!! Ouch
- 6/20/2010 3:15:49 AM

I have never been a soda drinker diet or not have always been a water drinker people used to make fun of me because of all the water I drank, I always had water with before it was the thing to do, when we went camping and everyone was drinking soda or beer I had my water and I always felt better the next day than the other people I was with.
- 4/6/2010 11:47:42 AM

I still drink Diet Pepsi or Diet Dr. Pepper on occasion, but since I started my lifestyle change in January and began focusing on getting all of my water in each day, I consume them less and less. I have found that if I am drinking 8 glasses of water or more a day, I just don't have the desire for them.

I started drinking diet soda when I was a teenager working in a fast food restaurant. Before that, my parents never really had that in our home ( we had Kool Aid- soda was too expensive). At some point I developed a skin condition on my legs that had me trying just about anything to stop it - the constant itch drove me crazy! I read at some point that the artificial sweetners could contribute to this so I switched to regular soda. After a time, the itching went away and I was convinced that was the cause.

Years later, I was slowly increasing the amount of regular soda I was drinking and after a check up at the doctor's was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. I immediately stopped drinking soda of any kind, until my dr said I could drink diet if I had too. So slowly but surely I started drinking diet soda again and the itching came back.

Then I started taking fish oil capsules for my heart and low and behold, my legs cleared up again. So I continue to take them and limit my consumption of diet soda. I don't drink more than 2 or 3 a week.
- 4/6/2010 11:16:35 AM

Diet coke addict. Can go several hours without, then it calls me. Have quit for day or 2 at most then when restarted noticed increase in hypogylcemic symptoms (not diabetic) Reading this article & others I know I need to really stop drinking it, or at least limit self to one a day.
- 4/6/2010 7:51:44 AM

I justify my Diet Coke addiction by saying that I never drink coffee and always drink a lot of water so it's just a small vice. Ultimately, however, I know that I need to start limiting how much of it I drink. If I can't get through one day without it, it's time to start evaluating the hold it has over me!
- 4/6/2010 1:21:02 AM

I used to be a serious diet coke drinker. Went cold turkey the beginning of the year, and I have never felt better. I've probably had a total of 1 since. I purchased a bottle of Diet Dr Pepper thinking I was giving myself a treat, and it took me 3 days to drink it. Found it wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked, and just didn't taste the same. Now I've focused my attention on drinking water, and when I'm out I may drink a glass of tea.
- 4/5/2010 10:46:27 PM

Diet coke gives me headaches and regular pepsi disgusts me so diet pepsi is out of the question. But... I LOVE regular Coca Cola! I have cut back from 3 cans a day to one (and I usually don't finish the whole can). I love Coke so much, it will be harder for me to quit drinking that than to to quit smoking!
- 4/5/2010 2:26:30 PM

Although I'm not a diet soda drinker this helped a lot. Now I don't have to even think twice about drinking a diet soda. I'm not dependent on regular soda. If it's there fine..if not fine. Nevertheless, I'm trying to quit cold turkey!
- 4/5/2010 1:59:05 PM

I gave up pop 3 years ago. Once in awhile I have one here or there but not regularly any more. Regular soda has too many calories and diet has too many ingredients that I can't even pronounce much less know what those things do to my body and long term health.
- 4/5/2010 11:33:59 AM

I never really developed a taste for diet soft drinks. I would rather drink a real soda than a diet one. Yet I have pretty much stopped drinking soda all together, except for a ginger ale when I have an upset stomach or a Coke when I'm on an airplane.
- 4/4/2010 8:39:37 PM

I did a weird thing a few years ago: I gave up diet Pepsi (which I'd loved for years, but I found the aspartame seriously aggravated my migraines) and switched to regular Pepsi! Obviously weight loss wasn't my biggest concern at the time. After just a few weeks, I couldn't drink the diet stuff- it tasted like I was drinking cleaning chemicals or something! I knew the regular kind wasn't good for me, but I had it once in a while.

Lucky thing for me was that, for some reason, the regular stuff started tasting pretty gross to me, too, especially when it came out of a can- it tasted like chemical fertilizer smells. I switched to just having it if we went out to eat... but even that's not so tempting anymore. I'm not known for my will power, so I'm thankful for whatever caused the change for me!

I drink tea, so I didn't get withdrawal symptoms from the caffeine. These days I drink water, sometimes a little iced tea for a treat, and lots of green tea with just a drop of honey
- 4/3/2010 7:31:50 AM

I can't have anything with aspartame in it because it makes me ill & gives me headaches. I can taste the stuff in the aftertaste as well, & I'll stop having something if the telltale signs of aspartame make themselves known to me. I don't chew gum as a rule, & this is one of the reasons - the other being that I have TMJ & grind my teeth, something that's exacerbated by gum chewing. Anyway! I dropped pop completely out of my diet just before Christmas & was great with not having any at all for quite a while & felt all that much better for it, but now I'm back to it. I thought I'd be able to handle it in moderation, but I know better. So, in my efforts to be healthier & fit, & whilst doing research on eating clean, I've decided to cut it out of my diet completely again. Of course this includes diet pop, which I never drink anyway because of the aspartame. Because of this, I also can't have Crystal Light. I like Nestea powders & any of those kind of things without aspartame.

I really & truly do like water & juice, & so I'll stick with those. I'll have the occasional hot chocolate or chai latte - I don't like tea or coffee, unless they're iced - but mostly water. I'm here on SP to improved my health & physical fitness, & I'm willing to give up certain "luxuries" to do this, &, in the end, they're not really luxuries if they only cause harm in the long run, at least with the amounts I have of them. I'm willing to make certain changes & "sacrifices" for my health & well being. Really, in the long run, they'll prove to not be sacrifices after all, I believe, as my health & fitness improve & I have energy to spare! :D
- 4/3/2010 1:31:00 AM

I regularly drank diet pepsi - every day and when I started my journey on Spark to get healthier - I have stopped. Maybe one a month now and I feel so much better! I will never go back go diet pop. Water is my drink of choice now.
- 4/2/2010 3:44:32 PM

I enjoy my Diet Pepsi and used to drink one a day. Don't know why and when I changed that but now, may do four a week. I drink them with a lot of ice and it actually settles my cravings for sweets as I use it as my snack between lunch and dinner. My sister now drink Diet Pepsi after drinking regular Pepsi and she enjoys it as well. I drink water with my meals and enjoy the powders added to water as well.
- 4/2/2010 11:54:48 AM

I have been drinking diet soda for years and I LOVE diet Coke...or should I say LOVED! I read a couple of these studies, in a couple different places, plus I have known people who experienced more weight loss when quitting the soda, diet or otherwise, all together. I slowly weaned myself off of the diet soda this year...and replaced it with water. I have never lost weight as quickly as I have in the past three months! I have cut my calories, and worked out, the same as other times that I have lost weight, but the only other big difference has been stopping the diet soda!
- 4/2/2010 10:48:35 AM

I'm a dental hygienist, so I often have the discussion of soda with my patients. Most say, "But I only drink diet soda". Diet sodas are very acidic and still contain high fructose corn syrup which is one of many ingredients listed in soft drinks, fruit juices (yes fruit juices are not any better than soda), and junk foods. High fructose corn syrup is usually one of the first three ingredients listed on a product. This is a good indicator that the product is something we should limit giving our bodies. Great article!
- 4/2/2010 7:48:53 AM

I don't drink regular sodas, but do occasionally drink diet ones. I am not addicted nor do they give me a craving for swets or make me eat more.I don't miss them tho if I don't have them, and I prefer not to give them to the kids.
- 3/6/2010 11:34:34 AM

A while back I switched to diet soda but realized that I did find myself eating more basically switching out the soda calories for other calories. I am now happy drinking plain water with fresh fruit.
- 3/1/2010 9:46:54 PM

I stopped diet coke two weeks ago per my doctor's advice. He wants me away from the artificial sweetners and sugar. Other than a few headaches (mostly when I wake up or late afternoon) I have not really missed them or the carbonation. I used to drink diet coke AND coffee in the mornings. Now, I drink coffee, tea or water (all unsweetened of course). As far as cravings for sugar or hunger level, so far they are about the same.
- 2/24/2010 11:03:40 PM

I was a big diet coke or pepsi, but even bigger on Fresca (fresca with peach... mmmm). I found something out when I gave up on diet soda. Now, I don't like a lot of sweet stuff. I've been hearing for years that the artificial sweeteners keep your inner 'need' for sweet up as a never ending cycle of 'need sweet - buy the soda'! Now I can't stand the taste of the light yogurt I was eating with fake sugar and fake fruit. I'm eating the greek yogurt with real fruit. I will eat dark chocolate in limited amounts. I will have Club soda or "fizzy water" with no added sweetener with rum, gin or vodka on the occasions when I am out drinking. I also tend to drink less alcohol this way. Less desire for the sweet with a kick. - 2/24/2010 8:56:44 PM

I have read this type of article many times. Last year I decided to forgo the diet soda for water and acutally did it for 6 months. I ended up gaining 5 lbs. I drink my diet soda (Sunkist Orange) in place of eating sweets, I put it on crushed ice and it is my treat throughout the day. Although I do drink a couple cans a day, I also get in my 8 glasses of water. I make sure that I don't have my soda until I have at least 4 glasses of water in between. Works for me!! - 2/24/2010 4:28:54 PM

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